---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Sade and Genet both achieved freedom by…"
description: "\"“Sade and Genet both achieved freedom by squeezing it out of their characters. If Apollinaire was right to describe Sade, who spent more than half his ..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9e1/ronald-hayman-274370_adult-life_sade-and-genet-both-achieved-freedom-by_1354176.jpg"
---

#  Sade and Genet both achieved freedom by squeezing it out…

![“Sade and Genet both achieved freedom by squeezing it out of their characters. If Apollinaire was right to describe Sade, who spent more than half his adult life in prison, as 'the most free spirit that ever lived', this is how he achieved freedom.” quote by Ronald Hayman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9e1/ronald-hayman-274370_adult-life_sade-and-genet-both-achieved-freedom-by_1354176.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9e1/ronald-hayman-274370_adult-life_sade-and-genet-both-achieved-freedom-by_1354176.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9e1/ronald-hayman-274370_adult-life_sade-and-genet-both-achieved-freedom-by_1354176.jpg)

> ““Sade and Genet both achieved freedom by squeezing it out of their characters. If Apollinaire was right to describe Sade, who spent more than half his adult life in prison, as 'the most free spirit that ever lived', this is how he achieved freedom.””

[Ronald Hayman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-hayman/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Sade and Genet achieved artistic freedom by forcing it from their characters, echoing Apollinaire’s view of Sade as the ultimate free spirit.

**In simple terms:** Artists gained freedom by extracting it from their characters.

Key Takeaway

Explore freedom through creative constraints.

Themes

artistic freedom literature character analysis

Mood

analytical thoughtful

Type

adult life apollinaire free spirit freedom genet sade achieved freedom sade genet genet achieved

When to use this quote

- writing workshops
- literary criticism
- personal expression

Key Concepts

creative process philosophy

Questions to Reflect On

- How does extracting freedom affect characters?
- Can oppression inspire art?

A Different Perspective

Freedom through oppression is paradoxical.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Achieved Freedom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/achieved-freedom-1067416/) [Adult life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/adult-life/) [Apollinaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/apollinaire-9834/) [Free spirit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/free-spirit/) [Freedom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/freedom/) [Genet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/genet-71027/) [Genet Achieved](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/genet-achieved-4615340/) [Sade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sade/) [Sade Genet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sade-genet-4615339/)

## Related quotes

> [“Apollinaire said a poet should be 'of his time.' I say objects of the Digital Age belong in newspapers, not literature. When I read…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roman-payne/apollinaire-said-a-poet-should-be-of-his-time-i-say-objects-of-the/)

[Roman Payne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roman-payne/)

> [“Neither the state guards nor the municipal police stopped me. What they saw going by was no longer a man but the curious product…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-genet/neither-the-state-guards-nor-the-municipal-police-stopped-me-what/)

[Jean Genet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-genet/)

> [“Why does everybody think that women are debasing themselves when we expose the conditions of our own debasement? Why do women always have to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-kraus/why-does-everybody-think-that-women-are-debasing-themselves-when-we-2/)

[Chris Kraus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-kraus/)

> [The truth is that we are not yet free; we have merely achieved the freedom to be free, the right not to be oppressed.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nelson-mandela/the-truth-is-that-we-are-not-yet-free-we-have-merely-achieved-the/)

[Nelson Mandela](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nelson-mandela/)

> [“If you ever reach that stage in life where you really couldn't give a toss about what others think of you, then you have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-kemp/if-you-ever-reach-that-stage-in-life-where-you-really-couldn-t-give-a/)

[Daniel Kemp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-kemp/)

> [The truth is we are not yet free; we have merely achieved the freedom to be free.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nelson-mandela/the-truth-is-we-are-not-yet-free-we-have-merely-achieved-the-freedom/)

[Nelson Mandela](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nelson-mandela/)

> [“I have never believed that man’s freedom consists in doing what he wants, but rather in never doing what he does not want to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-jacques-rousseau/i-have-never-believed-that-man-s-freedom-consists-in-doing-what-he/)

[Jean-Jacques Rousseau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-jacques-rousseau/)

> [I will not stop fighting against Islam until I have achieved freedom for our country.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geert-wilders/i-will-not-stop-fighting-against-islam-until-i-have-achieved-freedom/)

[Geert Wilders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geert-wilders/)

> [I am not the Marquis de Sade.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gaspar-noe/i-am-not-the-marquis-de-sade/)

[Gaspar Noe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gaspar-noe/)

> [“Sade pretty much summed up life in seven words: 'It's only love that gets you through.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregor-collins/sade-pretty-much-summed-up-life-in-seven-words-it-s-only-love-that/)

[Gregor Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregor-collins/)

> [“Is it by chance that the 18th century of France, the century of the "philosophy of enlightenment," did not produce any poets except the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-p-ret/is-it-by-chance-that-the-18th-century-of-france-the-century-of-the/)

[Benjamin Péret](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-p-ret/)

> [And I liked this extreme character of de Sade.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-kaufman/and-i-liked-this-extreme-character-of-de-sade/)

[Philip Kaufman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-kaufman/)

> [“A perversion must be baptized and patronized (the Marquis De Sade and Leopold Von Sacher-Masoch were on to something).”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philippe-lejeune/a-perversion-must-be-baptized-and-patronized-the-marquis-de-sade-and/)

[Philippe Lejeune](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philippe-lejeune/)

> [The fact is there hasn't been a thrilling new erogenous zone discovered since de Sade.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-gilder/the-fact-is-there-hasn-t-been-a-thrilling-new-erogenous-zone/)

[George Gilder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-gilder/)

> [I like how strong Sade is and how she doesn't give away too much.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessie-ware/i-like-how-strong-sade-is-and-how-she-doesn-t-give-away-too-much/)

[Jessie Ware](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessie-ware/)

## More Adult life quotes

> [“Not very long ago I was driving with my husband on the back roads of Grey County, which is to the north and east…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-munro/not-very-long-ago-i-was-driving-with-my-husband-on-the-back-roads-of/)

[Alice Munro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-munro/)

> [I have spent my entire adult life trying to make Liberty University the world-class Christian university that was envisioned at its founding.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-falwell-jr/i-have-spent-my-entire-adult-life-trying-to-make-liberty-university/)

[Jerry Falwell, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-falwell-jr/)

> [I spent close to a decade as an undercover officer in the CIA and have spent most of my adult life collecting intelligence and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-hurd/i-spent-close-to-a-decade-as-an-undercover-officer-in-the-cia-and/)

[Will Hurd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-hurd/)

> [I have been in relatively high-risk businesses all of my adult life. Few of the others, however, had the possibility of direct gains in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-armstrong/i-have-been-in-relatively-high-risk-businesses-all-of-my-adult-life/)

[Neil Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-armstrong/)

> [“I have spent most of my adult life in a ghetto among countless other outsiders who have also learned how to talk through the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamake-highwater/i-have-spent-most-of-my-adult-life-in-a-ghetto-among-countless-other/)

[Jamake Highwater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamake-highwater/)

> [Mike Bloomberg may be a Republican these days. But he has been a Democrat for most of his adult life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randi-weingarten/mike-bloomberg-may-be-a-republican-these-days-but-he-has-been-a/)

[Randi Weingarten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randi-weingarten/)

> [“She could not remember ever being truly happy in her adult life; her years with her mother had been built up devotedly around small…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirley-jackson/she-could-not-remember-ever-being-truly-happy-in-her-adult-life-her/)

[Shirley Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirley-jackson/)

> [“So, I begin each day with a gesture of cynicism, and close it with a gesture of faith; or, if you prefer, begin it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-barth/so-i-begin-each-day-with-a-gesture-of-cynicism-and-close-it-with-a/)

[John Barth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-barth/)

> [I was pretty poor for a long time. Not \*poor\* poor. But college student poor. I lived for most of my adult life living…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-rothfuss/i-was-pretty-poor-for-a-long-time-not-poor-poor-but-college-student/)

[Patrick Rothfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-rothfuss/)

> [Hillary Clinton is tough, clever, and formidably well briefed, and has been politically ambitious all her adult life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda-colley/hillary-clinton-is-tough-clever-and-formidably-well-briefed-and-has/)

[Linda Colley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linda-colley/)

> [I was really poor for most of my adult life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zoe-leonard/i-was-really-poor-for-most-of-my-adult-life/)

[Zoe Leonard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zoe-leonard/)

> [“When I heard Zizek’s statement, I have to admit that I reacted strongly against it. For the first twenty-five years of my adult life,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vaddhaka-linn/when-i-heard-zizek-s-statement-i-have-to-admit-that-i-reacted/)

[Vaddhaka Linn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vaddhaka-linn/)

> [“Someone once asked Gandhi for a sermon, and his reply was, “My life is my sermon.” In the same way, we see how Jesus…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-l-corey/someone-once-asked-gandhi-for-a-sermon-and-his-reply-was-my-life-is/)

[Benjamin L. Corey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-l-corey/)

> [“In his commencement address at Kenyon College, the novelist and social critic David Foster Wallace eloquently said, “In the day-to-day trenches of adult life,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mark-comer/in-his-commencement-address-at-kenyon-college-the-novelist-and-social/)

[John Mark Comer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mark-comer/)

> [“We are all, of course, wayfaring strangers on this earth. But coming out of the rainbow tunnel, the liminal portal between Marin and San…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-hutchins/we-are-all-of-course-wayfaring-strangers-on-this-earth-but-coming-out/)

[Scott Hutchins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-hutchins/)

[Browse all 431 Adult life quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/adult-life/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "“Sade and Genet both achieved freedom by squeezing it out of their characters. If Apollinaire was right to describe Sade, who spent more than half his adult life in prison, as 'the most free spirit that ever lived', this is how he achieved freedom.”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Ronald Hayman"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-hayman/sade-and-genet-both-achieved-freedom-by-squeezing-it-out-of-their/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Adult life"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-hayman/sade-and-genet-both-achieved-freedom-by-squeezing-it-out-of-their/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9e1/ronald-hayman-274370_adult-life_sade-and-genet-both-achieved-freedom-by_1354176.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9e1/ronald-hayman-274370_adult-life_sade-and-genet-both-achieved-freedom-by_1354176.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9e1/ronald-hayman-274370_adult-life_sade-and-genet-both-achieved-freedom-by_1354176.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Sade and Genet both achieved freedom by squeezing it out of their characters. If Apollinaire was right to…” — Ronald Hayman",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Ronald Hayman",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-hayman/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "“Sade and Genet both achieved freedom...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-hayman/sade-and-genet-both-achieved-freedom-by-squeezing-it-out-of-their/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-hayman/sade-and-genet-both-achieved-freedom-by-squeezing-it-out-of-their/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
